


Bright Nail-polish, Squirrel Skulls

by magicites



Category: Kamen Rider Fourze
Genre: F/F, Getting Together, Post-Series Pre-Movie, Study dates that they won't call dates but totally are
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-11-02 07:44:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20672297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicites/pseuds/magicites
Summary: There is Nozama Tomoko and then there is Kazashiro Miu, president - and later chairman - of the Kamen Rider Club, carving out a space for herself at the top. From this close, it’s only that much clearer how stark the differences between them are. Miu is everything Tomoko is not, everything she could never be.(Or: How Tomoko, strange goth extraordinaire, falls for the head cheerleader, and how the cheerleader falls for her back.)





	Bright Nail-polish, Squirrel Skulls

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Invoker_Kamui](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Invoker_Kamui/gifts).

> this is a VERY GOOD SHIP, wow. they were SO MUCH FUN TO WRITE and i love the contrasts between them!!! i uh, haven't watched all the way through fourze in years so i apologize for any inconsistencies. at the same time this is kamen rider and gentaro would be proud of me for running on friendship and gay vibes so it's fine, right? totally fine.
> 
> i hope you enjoy this pinch hit!!!

Miu may not remember their very first interaction, but Tomoko does. She remembers everything that others forget; the knowledge gnawing at her insides until it either festers into a rotting mess or explodes. 

She remembers stepping onto the campus of Amanogawa High School, clutching her iPad to her chest like a shield. Despite the sunlight that shimmered overhead, the school teemed with dark energy, setting the small hairs on the nape of her neck standing on end. All around her walked cheerful students, oblivious to the trap they headed directly into. 

Tomoko kept her head down as she surged forward, trying her hardest to keep to herself. She stopped only when she collided into another body. The sudden impact did little to hurt her physically, but it left her heart trapped in her throat. She looked up to see who she ran into, ready to skitter away into the darkness and protect herself as best she could in such an ominous place.

Miu’s eyes were so cold, she remembers. She looked down at Tomoko like she was a piece of trash that somehow stuck itself onto her perfect shoe.

“What do you think you’re doing, freak!? Running into your _ queen _ like that? You’re lucky I don’t make you get on your knees and beg for my forgiveness,” she had said, her words bracketed by the sneers of the two girls on either side of her. 

Tomoko had no idea who she was back then, but she was quick to learn. What she did know was that this callous girl in front of her was a cheerleader, and that she wore her uniform the same way a monarch wears a crown. 

What she also knew was, just like every other year of school Tomoko had suffered through, that she would suffer alone.

* * *

Except Gentaro Kisaragi crash-lands into her life like a star falling to Earth, disrupting every expectation Tomoko ever held about the world around her. She’s always loved Kamen Riders and the way they stand against the creeping evil that has always plagued her senses. Gentaro embodies that ideal with pride, a Kamen Rider through and through.

He teaches her what it feels like to not be alone. He invites her into the Kamen Rider Club like there was a spot within that ached for her presence to fill it. She makes _ friends_, for the first time in her life, and she finds so many wonderful things in the other members.

In Kengo, she finds steadfast determination. In Yuuki, she finds a kindred spirit, one filled to the brim with confidence. In Shun, she finds protection and a burgeoning sense of identity ready to break free from the shackles of expectation. In JK, she finds laughter and light. In Ryusei, she finds mystery and forgiveness.

And then there is Miu Kazashiro, president - and later chairman - of the club, carving out a space for herself at the top. From this close, it’s only that much clearer how stark the differences between them are. Miu is everything Tomoko is not, everything she could never be. Beautiful, confident, graceful - someone who has a bright future in front of her. 

Tomoko still struggles to imagine a future for herself most days.

* * *

A few days before Yuuki, Gentaro, and the other members of the Kamen Rider Club graduate, Miu storms into the Rabbit Hatch the same way she has since the first day she discovered it - as if she built the base with her own two hands. She looks around the room before her sharp eyes settle on Tomoko. Unsure of what slight she’s committed this time, Tomoko sinks into herself, trying to take up as little space as possible. 

Miu storms over and drops into the seat directly in front of her. All business and flair, just as she always is. “The KRC is going to need a new president for the upcoming school year.”

Tomoko glances around as discreetly as possible, confirming once more that only the two of them are in the Rabbit Hatch. There’s no one else Miu could possibly be talking to _ but _ Tomoko. She still doesn’t dare to make eye contact with Miu but she nods, forcing her stiff muscles to obey long enough to convey that she is indeed listening. 

“As chairman of the KRC both now and for the foreseeable future, it falls to me to pick Yuuki’s successor,” Miu explains. Something shifts in the air as her chin lowers and a small smile graces her lips, glossed over with a bold shade of pink. Tomoko berates herself for noticing that, but she stays as still as a statue as Miu’s persona drops. She grows a little gentler, softening the harsh edges that Tomoko remembers all too well from their first encounter. She becomes the person that the KRC has turned her into.

“Yuuki recommended you. She thinks you’ll be a great next president.” A little bit of her haughtiness returns, shown in her raised chin and her disaffected sniff. “And I agree. You know more about Kamen Riders than any of us. You care, too. You’re the obvious choice.” Perfectly manicured nails, painted the same pastel pink as her sweater, tap against the table. “Do you accept?”

“I…” Tomoko begins, the words dying in her throat.

“Hm?” Miu raises an eyebrow at her. Tomoko finds herself unable to meet her eyes and instead stares holes into her own hands. Her nails are ragged, bitten away whenever she gets too anxious or overwhelmed by a surge of dark energy. The Zodiarts may be defeated, but the evil they’ve left in this place still lingers. She can still feel it.

The KRC is still needed. Besides, Gentaro plans to stay at the school, too. There’s no way they could disband it now.

Tomoko can’t find her voice, but she nods. It’s such a slight move that it’s nearly imperceptible, but the straight line of Miu’s back sags just the littlest bit. “Good,” Miu says. “I’ll have Yuuki meet with you to discuss the details. It’s a big responsibility, you know.” Before fear can choke Tomoko in place, Miu softens once more. “You’ll be great,” she adds.

Tomoko’s heart beats an erratic pace in her chest. She doesn’t wear her makeup as heavily as she used to, but she desperately hopes that her foundation is thick enough to cover the surge of heat that rushes to her face. 

Judging by how Miu doesn’t react, it must be. 

* * *

Even with most of its founding members gone, the KRC continues to thrive. Gentaro, despite not actually being a full teacher yet, becomes the faculty advisor. While the atmosphere within the Rabbit Hatch changes, it changes to accommodate Tomoko. The lights may not shine as brightly and laughter doesn’t ring as loudly on the base as it used to. Squirrel skulls may decorate the shelves and crystalline stars may hang from the ceiling and pulse an erratic red whenever Tomoko wants them to, but every member of the KRC feels its warmth all the same. They come to love it, never calling it evil or gross, but quirky and interesting.

The older members always make sure to find time to come by. Gentaro and Miu come the most, mostly due to their proximity. Shun’s college is close by, too, but his studies leave him stopping by as often as most of the other graduated members. Gentaro’s presence is comforting as it always has been, but whenever Miu enters the room, Tomoko feels herself freeze up.

But Tomoko is the KRC’s president now, and so whenever Gentaro isn’t here, Miu seeks her out. She demands updates with the same intensity that she lives the majority of her life enthralled in, the same intensity that must have propelled her into the excellent university she goes to now. 

The same university that is looking more and more appealing to Tomoko with each passing day. They have one of the best programs for literature in the country. Tomoko may not get a high enough score to be accepted, but she feels its pull. 

She makes a point not to bring it up to Miu. Unfortunately, Miu makes it a point to bring it up herself. 

“Tomoko,” Miu begins, her voice laced with honey that makes a shiver go down Tomoko’s spine, “You’re planning on going to university, right? Any ideas where?”

She’s gotten a little better at talking to Miu in the past few months, but never for something as personal as this. She can give reports on how the KRC is going. To talk about herself is… intimidating.

But there’s no one else here, and the spell Miu casts on her wanes a little when Tomoko breaks eye contact. “A-actually… the literature program at your university is… n-nice…” she stutters to her chewed fingernails. 

She doesn’t look up to see Miu’s reaction, but the _ Oops! _ that escapes her rings in the air like a gunshot. Perfectly manicured hands, tipped in a light lavender today, cover her own. Tomoko’s blood freezes in her body and she feels like a robot as her neck creeps up, centimeter by centimeter, to let her wide eyes meet Miu’s sharp ones. They blaze with an excited fire, the antithesis to her own frozen self.

“You have _ great _ taste! My university is amazing. Have you toured it yet?”

“N-no…”

“Are you free tomorrow?” It’s phrased like a question, but it’s anything but. Luckily for Tomoko, she is, and she forces herself to creak out a nod. Miu’s hands tighten into a vice grip around her own. “I have cheer practice in the morning, but after that, I’m taking you on a tour. The campus is beautiful. I know you’ll love it.” Miu pauses. “Actually. Our cheer team is one of the best in the prefecture. Come watch us, ten o’clock. Got it?”

Tomoko’s voice dies in her throat, but she nods. Satisfied, Miu squeezes her hands once more before pulling away. At that same moment, JK enters the Rabbit Hatch, tailed by a flock of their first-year members. Miu stands up to better interrogate the newcomers, leaving Tomoko with fire blazing across every centimeter of skin that Miu touched.

* * *

Miu stands exactly where she belongs - at the very front and center of her cheer team. Tomoko isn’t sure if she’s captain, but her every moment feels like she commands the rest of the team. Her uniform is different from the one she wore in Amanogawa - this one pastel blue and black, instead of red and black - but she still wears it like a queen wears a crown. Her top is tight and covers her entire torso, from the slight v of her exposed neck down to her wrists and the hem of her skirt. Like her old uniform, this skirt is also pleated, and with every high kick she makes, she reveals the black shorts underneath. Her socks are the same blue as the uniform and end at her knees, springing from clean white shoes. 

Tomoko vividly remembers the queen festival from her first year and how Miu commanded the stage the moment she stepped on it. Back then she gravitated towards Yuuki, sensing a kindred spirit in the odd girl who decided to sing a song about a satellite in front of the entire school. She would have done anything for a shred of that confidence.

She saw Miu’s power back then, but she can appreciate it better now. There’s still a little wariness she carries within her when she’s around Miu, but the animosity has long faded. Maybe they aren’t fully friends, but they’re something else. Comrades, maybe. Teammates. Club members. 

Miu is _ amazing _. She dances with effortless grace, swinging her body with ease like a river given solid form. Tomoko can’t tear her eyes away from Miu, even as the other cheerleaders behind her break away into a different formation. They all follow every beat of the music, but if Tomoko really allows herself to believe it, it almost feels like the music itself follows Miu’s direction. 

And then, after a few minutes that feel like blissful hours, it’s over. Miu, along with the rest of the team, bows. Her chest heaves and her bangs stick to her forehead with sweat, but the girls all turn to each other with dazzling smiles and cheerful high-fives. Miu grins at a few of her teammates before jogging over to where Tomoko sits on the bleachers. That same grin is directed at Tomoko, freezing her in place. “We’re great, right?”

Tomoko squeaks and nods, breaking eye contact as she looks away. She hears a wordless groan come from in front of her, something that borders a whine. “What, no commentary? No, _ good job Miu, you did wonderfully? _ Nothing at all?”

Tomoko scrambles for a response. She blurts out the first thing that comes to mind, something so utterly Tomoko that she can practically hear Yuuki whining about how it doesn’t make any sense. “Like… like a river in a body. The current sweeps you away, but you weren’t gone.” She chances a glance at Miu, peeking up at her from underneath her heavy bangs, and Miu’s pout breaks into a laugh. 

“Not what I expected to hear, but not entirely bad,” Miu assures her. “After all, what kind of chairman would I be if I didn’t understand the members of my club?”

That sends Tomoko’s heart leaping into her throat. Against her own impulse, she feels a smile stretch across her lips, one that Miu returns. “That’s better!” Miu says, darting forward to tug Tomoko to her feet. “Come on, we have a tour to get to!”

And just like that, they’re off.

* * *

The Miu that Tomoko first met would never, not under threats of death, text Tomoko on a Saturday afternoon to suggest meeting up so she can tutor Tomoko for her university entrance exam. She would have scoffed at the very notion that someone like Tomoko would be naive enough to apply to such an elite school.

The Tomoko that first met Miu would never have accepted her offer. She would have seen it as a prank, something designed to delay her suffering as long as possible. 

But they are not the people they used to be, so they spend all of a December Sunday with scarves wrapped around their necks and coats pulled to their chins, tucked away in a corner of the college library and fighting off a stubborn chilly draft. Miu’s old prep books sprawl out on the table in front of them, her old handwriting overlaid by Tomoko’s as they work through problem sets together.

Miu is a good teacher, if a little stubborn. She praises Tomoko lavishly whenever she gets a problem right, making her blush and hide her smile in her scarf. She’s also quick to snap at Tomoko when she gets something that Miu thinks should be obvious wrong, though there’s little heat behind the harsh words. They slide off Tomoko easily.

Tomoko’s rituals slide off Miu with the same ease. She blinks and a small _ Oops! _slips out as Tomoko brings out a squirrel skull, a large sprig of sage, and a chunk of pink Himalayan sea salt the size of her fist and sets it on the table. She can’t burn the sage here without getting them kicked out, but she brushes the plant across every piece of study material they have. 

“Is this… for decoration?” Miu tries.

Tomoko shakes her head. “It’s a spell to improve focus.”

“Ah…” Miu says, nodding slowly. “Should I… help?”

Tomoko hands her a packet of dried venus flytraps and instructs her to lay one at the corner of each table. Miu looks completely lost as she does, but what matters is that she does it. Tomoko tries not to let herself be distracted by the way her heart squeezes in her chest at the knowledge. The spell must be working, since she only revels in the feeling for a few moments before getting to work. 

After what must be hours of studying, Miu breaks the trance they’ve fallen into with a very deliberate stretch. Her hands fall to the table, one manicured nail - and today’s shade is a deep purple, something that Tomoko could see herself wearing - landing to tap against Tomoko’s knuckle. She draws away her hand as if burned, looking at Miu with panic etched all over her face.

“Let’s take a break!” Miu says. At Tomoko’s nod, she flips the closest book shut and draws back in her chair, lounging like this isn’t a freezing library, but her own home. She’s good at making any space she enters her own, Tomoko knows. She wishes she could feel like anything but a stranger nearly everywhere she goes. 

“You know, I really like your style,” Miu says. “It’s like - it’s a little gothic lolita, but not too much. It’s subtle. Like… like a modern princess from a dark fairy tale.”

“I’m not a princess,” is the first thing Tomoko says. It’s getting easier to speak to Miu these days. “You are. I’m the witch.”

“I could see that. Do you like being a witch?”

Tomoko has to think about it. It used to be an insult, when she was a little girl, but she’s grown into it now. Made it her own. She nods.

“Witches can be cute too,” Miu says. “A queen and a witch, working side-by-side…” she trails off before snapping her fingers. “A queen and her royal witch! It’s perfect.”

Tomoko blushes so hard she’s certain the red can be seen through her foundation. Miu’s eyes, sharp as always, linger on her face for a few seconds longer than usual. Tomoko shakes her head and hides herself in her hair, grateful that the dark strands can cover her pale face from view. She hears Miu huff out a breath of laughter, making her heart skip the way it often has whenever they’re together.

“As the royal witch, your queen would like to task you with a duty.”

Tomoko stifles a giggle. Miu too, can be silly when she wants to do. “Yes?”

“To go shopping with her after your exams are done. Her treat, thanks to the royal funds.”

It feels like a candle lit inside her heart, to think of the two of them as anything approaching a unit.

Not trash, but… an equal, maybe. Or something close enough for the difference to no longer matter.

* * *

On the day of her exams, Tomoko wakes up to a sight that has quickly grown familiar: a text on her phone from Miu. This one is both an encouragement and a demand wrapped up in one message, but the meaning is the same. 

Miu believes in her, knows that she’ll do excellently on these exams. It’s that encouragement that propels Tomoko forward.

And when all is said and done, when Tomoko’s brain is mush from spending all of her mental effort to answer every problem she could, Miu waits for her outside the testing center. She links her arm through Tomoko’s like she’s done it every day of her life, and pulls her towards Miu’s car. 

“Where are we going?” Tomoko asks, dazed from her exertion but also from the body so close to her own.

“To celebrate. Food first, shopping after. Unless…” Miu stops, though she keeps a haughty expression plastered on her face. Tomoko knows her well enough now to know that she’s saving face and masking her own hesitance. “You’re too tired?”

Tomoko shakes her head. “No. Let’s go.”

They eat the greasiest ramen Miu can find and go shopping in an upscale district, one that Miu walks through with a practiced familiarity. Tomoko doesn’t recognize any of the stores.

Still, Miu, with the strange power that is hers and hers alone, manages to make Tomoko feel like she isn’t an outsider. Miu rifles through clothing racks and asks for Tomoko’s opinion on every piece she pulls out. 

When she goes to the changing room, she comes out in something that isn’t quite her usual style. Her skirt is made of black ruffles and her top is covered in delicate lace dyed a deep purple. It exposes more of her bust than Tomoko would ever feel comfortable with showing herself, but it still speaks to her colors, her patterns. 

Something that is both of theirs, in this single outfit.

Miu buys it.

* * *

Tomoko spends the week leading up to receiving her exam results wading through what feels like a dark cloud. JK, who decided to completely forgo exams, takes on some of her duties as president to help lessen her stress.

It affects every part of her. She’s more sensitive to the wisps of evil energy that still cling to Amanogawa’s halls. She struggles to make conversation with the junior members. Makes weird faces and mutters things that gain her panicked looks from the students who don’t know her. Assignments that should come easily to her feel like she’s deciphering them from another language. 

Despite it all, Miu is there: aggressive, confident, urging her to keep moving and keep trying. Miu is at her side every moment she can be, leaving only when either one of them has class. She buys Tomoko her favorite foods, even the ones Miu will turn her nose up at and call disgusting, and sends her texts full of newt and lizard pictures when she can’t be there in person.

It’s the greatest comfort she could ask for.

And when Tomoko receives the letter with the results enclosed within, Miu is at her side, helping her open the seal when her hands shake too hard to do so alone. Miu rips it open with ease, much better at hiding her own nerves than Tomoko could ever be.

“Do you want me to read it for you?” Miu asks. “I can.”

Tomoko shakes her head. Miu gives her the letter and Tomoko forces herself to read the paper even as it trembles in her hands. She skims the introduction, eyes flitting down until she finds the answer she’s terrified to see.

“Well?” Miu asks. “What is it?”

“I…” Tomoko swallows, feeling frozen in place by what she reads. “...I was accepted.”

Miu crashes into her with a shout of joy, her arms wrapping around Tomoko and holding her tight. Tomoko melts, Miu’s fire burning away every chill her anxiety over this answer placed within her. Her heart pounds in her chest, beating so frantically that Miu must feel her racing pulse.

Then Miu’s lips find hers, and the world goes still. No fire, no ice, no evil. Only them.

Tomoko has never kissed anyone before. She doesn’t know how to react. Miu pulls away quickly, her face as cherry red as Tomoko’s must be, despite the makeup they both wear. “Oops!” Miu squeaks out. “I-I’m sorry. I was caught up in the moment…” she explains quickly, but there’s no need to.

Tomoko shakes her head. She won’t let these words lodge in her throat. Not this time. “Do… do you like me?”

“What kind of question is that? Of course I do!” Miu snaps.

“Do you _ like-like _ me?”

“Uh, yeah! I know what it looks like to have an admirer,” Miu snaps again, covering her embarrassment with an anger that’s anything but. “I know the signs. I feel the same way you do.”

Tomoko feels a grin spread over her face, one that Miu is quick to mirror. She could get used to these kisses. “We’ll be together,” Tomoko says, looking for confirmation. Tentatively, she reaches out to find Miu’s hand with her own. Miu squeezes hers tight. 

“Correction - we’ll be students at the same college, and if this,” she raises their joined hands, “is what I think it is, then we’ll also be a couple. Right?”

Tomoko used to hate her grin, but seeing the way her own unbridled smile makes Miu’s face light up that much more, she feels like she could grow to love it. “Right.”

Even if Miu doesn’t remember their first interaction, it’s fine. She’ll remember this one - the one that matters.


End file.
